2018 releases

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

A Bite Of...

Today, I'd like welcome the talented Christina Phillips with a bite of her bookBloodlust Denied.

Can you, in less than five words
describe your book Bloodlust Denied?

Vampire duke meets Maiden of Death

What inspired you to write it?

I first got the idea for this book four
years ago, when I read a submissions call from Ellora’s Cave for stories
connected to music. I instantly had this vision of a dark haired seductress
dancing to the haunting strains of a single violin in a London back alley. I’d also always wanted to
write a Regency romance and the two ideas melded when the hero entered the
scene. However, he was no ordinary duke. He turned out to be a two thousand
year old vampire who had long ago forsaken his honor and conscience. As it
turned out I never did submit to EC four years ago as I missed the deadline due
to other commitments, but the story always remained in the back of my mind.
Eventually I revisited it last year, gave it a good edit and it was picked up
by Ellora’s Cave J

...and here's the snippet!

This is the scene where the hero Alexius
first sees Morana.

The refined garden square of St James
faded into the distance, and the dank underbelly of London rolled over him like a fetid corpse.
Whores called out to him, reached for him, their already dead eyes following
him. But tonight they weren’t enough. Their polluted, weary blood offended his
senses and revulsion skittered along his spine at the thought of slaking his
hunger with any but the one he sought.

He turned into another dark alley, the stink of decay and
despair wrapping around him in an unwelcome caress of death. But threaded
through every beat of this misbegotten city her
scent throbbed, rich, vibrant. Closer.

So close he could taste the sweetness, savor the texture,
feel the thick luscious fluid as it pumped down his throat. Lust stirred deep
in his groin, thickening his shaft and the haunting melody of a single violin
scarcely penetrated the heavy thud of desire that pounded through his temples.

And then he saw her, captured in the flickering light of a
single lantern. Long black hair cascaded down her back and slender arms arched
above her head as her lithe body undulated to the exquisite strains of the
violin.

She appeared oblivious to her captivated audience, and
Alexius ignored the dozen or so drunken men gathered around her. They were of
no consequence. This woman was his, and he intended to have her.

The intricate crescendo sank into his brain, pounding in
tandem with escalating lust. The woman spun faster, heedless of the broken
cobblestones, heedless of his deadly intent. Focused only on her own pleasure
in the music, in the movement, in the sensuous cocoon she wove.

With dramatic flourish, the shadowy musician ended the solo,
the final note echoing through the dark alley like the call from a lover long
since forgotten. Yet still Alexius couldn’t move toward her, as if he was still
enchanted by the magic eroticism of her dance.

She flung back her head, her wild hair framing her face, and
looked directly at him. His heart, no longer a slumbering organ, slammed
against his ribs, pulses escalating.

He hadn’t felt so alive in millennia.

If you like the sound of this you can find Christina, and buy the book at the links below!